How Do I Clean out the Ashes Without Freezing?

[serinat]

We have a Hampton HI300, and this is our first season burning wood. There is no ash pan built into this insert, so we have to clean the ashes out our own way. How do I do that without making a mess? Last time we had a fine layer of ashes all over the living room.

How about without freezing? We've tried letting the fire die completely to clean out the ashes, but then we freeze or have to use the fuel oil furnace (ugh).

Surely there's a better way?

 

[velvetfoot]

I have the 12" model of this and I like it a lot.
It helps if there's a draft so that any stirred up ashes go up the flue.
I put the pan on a concrete surface til it's time to clean again and either load it up one more time or empty ashes into a trashcan.
http://howtocleanfireplace.com/en/

 

[burntime]

Sweep the hot coals to the side and carefully shovel the ash into a bucket with a lid. Move the coals to the front of the box and load er up! Make sure you do not put the bucket near anything that can burn. Don't laugh, the guy down the road who I thought was smart dumped them in a plastic wheelbarrel and then put it in his detached garage to warm it up while he was fixing a car???

 

[FireWalker]

Buy some welding gloves and a fireplace shovel. Wear gloves when fire burns down to coal bed, push coals to one side and carefully shovel ashes into ash bucket. Place bucket in front of open stove door so draft helps suck ash dust up the chimney.

 

[edthedawg]

I dumped mine this morning from the Heritage without using the ash pan (most don't use it, I've observed). I went to Lowes and bought their small galvanized (tr?)ashcan w/ lid & handle, and a $5 hearth shovel from the hardware store. We had plenty of burning coals this morning when i came down to refire - easily covering the floor of the stove, and scorching hot. But also about 2" thick. So from the side door, I raked the big coals to the back, then shoveled the ash and smaller remaining coals out of the front of the firebox floor. 2 or 3 shovelfuls. Then raked the big coals forward, and took a couple shovelfuls from the back. Yes you wind up putting hot coals into the bucket, and you get a good puff of smoke and ash, but nothing really more than reloading w/ the door open and the flue damper near closed.

If you can't tolerate the slightest scent of smoke or a few wisps of ash in the area, then maybe this isn't for you...

Anyways, after shoveling, I just re-spread the coals and ash bed. Plenty there for the first small split I dropped in there to flame up quickly, and we were at 400F when I left for work a couple hours later. I just put the lid on the can, and put it outside on the concrete front porch. before I left for work, I checked the can - pretty cold, no smoke, no obvious cinders. I didn't stick my hand into the ash, but an inch away yielded nowhere near the heat that had been there when I originally dumped the ashes in.

I hope you find this helpful.

 

[velvetfoot]

Here is an old thread about the ashtrap:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/4742/P0/

There is a perferated shovel called the KoalKeeper, but I haven't had that much luck with it.
http://koalkeeper.com/

 

[madrone]

Make sure your ash bucket goes outside or some other non-living area. Coals can smolder for a long time.

 

[billb3]

I use a coffee can scooping slowly down the middle maybe 5 or 6 passes after pushing clu kers and hot coals to the side.
I'm happy to get 50% or a bit more.
No dumping from one container to the other inside the house, nor in the stove.

 

[Highbeam]

Just scoop them out hot. Don't drop them into the bucket or do anything twitchy which will disturb the ash and make it any more airborn than it has to be.

 

[gpcollen1]

Just a scoop or two every morning or more every other day or so will do. Shovel it carefully into a bucket with lid in other hand to close after you dump a scoop.

 

[sfgraham2]

We have a Hampton HI300, and this is our first season burning wood. There is no ash pan built into this insert, so we have to clean the ashes out our own way. How do I do that without making a mess? Last time we had a fine layer of ashes all over the living room.

How about without freezing? We've tried letting the fire die completely to clean out the ashes, but then we freeze or have to use the fuel oil furnace (ugh).

Surely there's a better way?

Are you doing this with hot or cold ashes? If cold/slightly warm use an ash vacuum. I have the HI200 and know how you feel. I'm planning on buying an ash vacuum today.

http://www.lovelessash.com/

Cool thing about the vac is that it's actually designed for the ash only. The opening in the nozzle is small as to not suck up the coals.

 

[kenny chaos]

I just bought this- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSAA:US:11&Item=160258979617

Instead of bringing in the small trash can every few days to clean lots of ash and make lots of dust I just grab a couple small scoops into this ash pan everday and when I go out, it gets emptied into the small trash can which will then get dumped once every few weeks or more.

 

[LLigetfa]

I caught my dad's house on fire by putting ashes into a flammable container and then forgetting to take it outside to dump.

I use a metal coal pail for ashes. It's not ideal since it doesn't have a lid. I need to find something with a lid.

I've thought of making a shovel with a sloped diamond mesh grate on top of it to separate the coals from the ashes. The problem with the coalkeeper velvetfoot linked to is that it wants to take out the coals and leaves the ashes and I want just the opposite.

Now I just rake the coals to one side, shovel out the ashes on that side, then rake the coals to the other side and shovel the rest out. I guess the coalkeeper could be used with this method.

 

[RedRanger]

First step is a metal bucket to be taken outside once you have done the deed.

Second step is to do it when you can stay in the room with the stove, and wait for the heat to get elsewhere.

Unless I am missing something, I really can`t see how you are going to do this with a whole lot of heat still being produced?

So, follow the second step and stay nice and warm ;-)

 

[firefighterjake]

. . . Don't laugh, the guy down the road who I thought was smart dumped them in a plastic wheelbarrel and then put it in his detached garage to warm it up while he was fixing a car???

I won't laugh . . . every year there is at least one person who ends up catching their house or garage on fire when they put what they think are dead coals into a paperbag, plastic bag, plastic bucket, cardboard box, etc. and then place that container on to their wooden porch, wooden deck or in their garage. As you might have figured we're usually called a few hours later after they or a passing motorist realizes that the coals might not have been so dead after all.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I have the hampton, and manage without covering the house in ash. I have a galv. bucket. Push live coals to one side, scoop up ash, place it in the bucket carefully- don't dump. If you have a taller bucket, you may dump and then ash goes airborne.

edit: you don't need to scoop every day. You don't need to get every bit of ash. An ash layer actually helps combustion. The charcoal and live coals can be pulled up front, reload, leave the air open, and it starts itself up.

 

[LLigetfa]

If you have a taller bucket, you may dump and then ash goes airborne.

I first open a window to increase the draft up the chimney. I place the bucket as close as I can below the door opening. I try to gently lower the ashes into the bucket but because I always overload the shovel, I invariably have some spillage. The updraft tends to draw the airborne ash back into the stove.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

good idea!

 

[bbc557ci]

After a burn, I wait until my T6 has cooled down some, but is still nice and warm. Then push the good coals aside. Then I stick a large sauce pan just inside the door and shovel the ash into the pan. Remaining heat in the stove draws the "upset" ash up the pipe. Sauce pan I use I think is a 4 qt. Anyways, I fill the pan then walk it outside to a metal ash can and dump it. Generally takes a few trips. But having the pan inside the stove, no ash makes it into the living room.
Because there's limited room in the stove, I end up tipping the shovel sideways to dump ash into the pan. But hey, it works

btw... I havent used the ash pan at the bottom of the stove yet.

 

[karri0n]

in the IR, with the ashpan in the bottom, I just empty the ashpan into the bucket, and the resulting incinerator blast from opening the lower door blows most of the problem ash right up the flue pipe. A lot of people complain about their ash pans, but I really like mine for the fact that I can also just sweep coals/ash back and forth across the lower grate, keeping coals and dropping ash into the pan. No worry about live coals in the ash, no coals lost due to scooping.

 

[fraxinus]

The Ashtrap, which I used for the first time last winter, is an excellent tool. I push large coals to the side and use a 6" metal putty knife to push ash into the Ashtrap. When you close the Ashtrap's cover while it is still within the stove, the mess is greatly reduced. The small spillage I vacuum up (after waiting to make sure it's cold) with a Shopvac with an ash/sheetrock dust filter. A five gallon pail with cover kept outside is the place to dump the ashes from the Ashtrap. Can you do this while maintaining a hot fire? No, but done when the fire has died down but the stove itself retains some heat, it's easy to bring things back up to operating temperature quickly.

 

[SteveT]

The Ashtrap, which I used for the first time last winter, is an excellent tool. I push large coals to the side and use a 6" metal putty knife to push ash into the Ashtrap. When you close the Ashtrap's cover while it is still within the stove, the mess is greatly reduced. The small spillage I vacuum up (after waiting to make sure it's cold) with a Shopvac with an ash/sheetrock dust filter. A five gallon pail with cover kept outside is the place to dump the ashes from the Ashtrap. Can you do this while maintaining a hot fire? No, but done when the fire has died down but the stove itself retains some heat, it's easy to bring things back up to operating temperature quickly.

I agree. The Ashtrap works fine. BUT - as at least one other pointed out in the thread Velvetfoot referenced - it is very pricey for what you get. At $55.00 delivered I expected something that didn't feel so cheap. Very light gauge construction. Unusual feeling to have bought something that works exactly as you hoped it would and to feel that you were ripped off at the same time.

 

[Fod01]

I use an old 3qt saucepan. Hold the pot inside the stove, scoop ash into the pot, put the lid on. Put the whole thing outside. From there you can empty into a larger ash can or, if cool, this amount fits nicely into those white bags from the supermarket.

 

[dsell]

Hi, I have the HI300 insert and was hit with the same problem. I took a 2 qt?, about 8 in diameter x 3 1/2 deep, ricer/strainer made of stainless steel with a handle and enlarged the strainer holes to 1/2 inch. I open the air all the way and scoop everything to one side. I fill the strainer up and shake it side to side and up down toward the front opposite side of your pile. Now, dump the coals behind your ash pile you just made. Repeat until you have sifted the entire pile. As long as you go slow, the dust all goes up the chimney since the coals are producing a good draft. Now I get my hoover out and attach the stiff pipe extensions and the hard 4 inch 90. I lay that on top of the stove mantle and turn it on. I get a scoop of ash and hold my metal bucket up near the vacuum 90. Ease the ash in the bucket, don't just plop it in and remove the shovel slow. There will be a slight haze of ash and the vacuum will get it. Be careful to never suck up any hot coals. If you think you may have, leave the vacuum outside away from the house. Spread the coals out and you are ready to go. I would love to find an ash bucket with a small vacuum built in above it.

 

[jadm]

More than enough tips on ash scooping. Now you might like to look at the thread on what people do with their cold ash. It works wonders in the garden. ;-)